Church Bells
by TheNovelArtist
Summary: Nathalie has had enough of being a bystander, especially after discovering Adrien is Chat Noir, and decides to take matters into her own hands.


_A/N: Inspired by my favorite song, "Church Bells" by Carrie Underwood. _

_Meaning this isn't fluffy  
_

* * *

Calling Hawkmoth's villainy 'innocent' may seem like an oxymoron, but to Nathalie, it was the best way to describe it. It wasn't as though she had a say in the matter anyway. Gabriel wanted his wife back, and he was doing what he could to make sure it happened. It was what any desperate man would do.

The akumas he began with were more-or-less harmless. Ladybug took care to fix the city once the battle was over. No damage was ever lasting. While Nathalie knew instinctually that what Gabriel was doing was wrong, she turned a blind eye to it. Her job was secure, Adrien was fine, and Gabriel was never changing in his resolve despite all of Nathalie's hopes.

The years drifted by, and change was so slow it was barely noticeable. One day, Nathalie blinked and realized that Adrien was as tall as her. How and when had that happened? He used to be an optimistic young man. Now, he seemingly never cracked a smile. His resemblance to Gabriel in that regard was terrifying.

"I'm going out," he said, before walking straight out the front door before Nathalie could protest.

The door slammed, and Nathalie sighed. There was no point in going after him. He wouldn't come back, and they couldn't make him. It frustrated Gabriel, but if Nathalie was honest with herself, she couldn't say she was surprised. There was hardly any relationship between them, and that was mostly on Gabriel's part. And Adrien, after a while, just gave up trying.

That wasn't the only change, but again, it was almost a slap in the face when the news had turned on and Nathalie watched the akuma ravage the city.

In a way unlike any other before it.

"Sir, you need to examine yourself," Nathalie warned Gabriel after the akuma had been defeated by Ladybug and Chat Noir. She didn't particularly care for the superheroes, but it was clear that even they were frazzled by this akuma. "This is going too far."

"Nothing is too far for Emilie," he had said. "If Chat Noir and Ladybug would only give up their miraculouses, then there would be no more akumas."

"Sir—"

"You are dismissed, Nathalie."

She had no choice but to take her leave.

This went on for five long months. In that time, Gabriel's aggressive manners had become perfectly clear to Nathalie. Adrien's responses to his father had changed, too. No longer was this Gabriel being the leader of the household and Adrien submitting out of respect. That had long passed, leaving Nathalie wishing for those days over the almost daily stand-off between two alpha wolves.

Nathalie had typed and retyped her resignation, only to delete it every time. She cared for Gabriel. She cared for Adrien. She couldn't leave, taking away the only source of stability in either of their lives.

"Sir," she began after another particularly scary akuma had ravaged the city. "Aren't you concerned for Adrien? He was at a photoshoot very close to the building the akuma destroyed."

Gabriel gave a pause, one that grew far too long for Nathalie's liking. "He's fine," he eventually said. "Now, leave me be."

Nathalie was forced to bow and take her leave. It slowly killed her watching this and sitting by passively because people were getting hurt with these latest akumas, and for Gabriel to not realize his son could be the next victim caused by his own hands was tragic.

She'd even taken up caring and worrying over Ladybug and Chat Noir. The two supers had left the battle looking tragically worse for wear. Ladybug had been hit in the head, causing a nasty cut emphasized by blood pouring down her face, over her eye, down her cheek.

And Chat Noir… Nathalie felt sorry for that black cat.

He always took hits for Ladybug. Ever since the two began. But this last hit had torn open his suit all across his chest, and he'd laid there in the battle for a good moment before forcing himself up, panting and out of breath, to assist Ladybug in finishing off the akuma. Nathalie—along with everyone else in Paris—assumed they were indestructible. However, it seemed that physical damage that these latest akumas left behind didn't disappear with the call of the miraculous ladybug.

She had to force herself numb, to be indifferent to the pain, otherwise, she'd end up shouldering the guilt of her non-action. Gabriel would insist life would go on, and her tablet reminded her that Adrien had a fencing lesson he had to go to. She had a job to do, one that could take all her attention away from the bloody mess that was the latest akuma battle.

She marched to Adrien's room and knocked on the door. "Adrien, you have a fencing lesson."

There was a pause on the other side. "I'm not going."

Nathalie froze. Occasionally, Adrien would whine about his activities, particularly if it was a photoshoot, but never once did he tell her 'no.' "Adrien, be reasonable. You love fencing."

"I'm not going and that's final, Nathalie!" he snapped, voice shockingly aggressive.

She didn't know what to do. Never had she faced this before. But Adrien was seventeen, and if he didn't want to go, she couldn't force him. "Are you all right, Adrien?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone."

Those words were too final for her to argue against.

The next day, she would watch the confrontation of father and son unfold. "I'm disappointed in you, Adrien. I've let your behavior slide, but locking yourself in your room, snapping at Nathalie, and refusing to go to fencing is unacceptable."

"Why," Adrien challenged. "What's so unacceptable about it?"

Gabriel was taken aback for a second; Nathalie could tell by how Gabriel leaned back on his heels and his eyes widened the slightest amount. "Why?" he repeated, collecting himself to face off Adrien once again.

"Yes, why," Adrien growled. "There's no point in going other than not getting in trouble with you."

Nathalie sucked in a breath before deciding to walk out of the room. She didn't want to see this happening and instead chose to busy herself with anything she could find to do in order to ignore the scene happening in the household.

The stand-off ended with a fuming Adrien marching from the house and a red-faced Gabriel storming to his office, each slamming the door behind them.

The akuma that occurred as a result of Hawkmoth's anger was a frightening one. Worse yet, it was clear that neither Ladybug nor Chat had recovered from the last fight, meaning they weren't in as good of condition as they should be to take down the akuma properly.

That meant more severe injuries and more destruction to Paris and more people running in fear and more damage done.

Nathalie hated it.

A couple months later, and the fighting had only gotten worse, between both the supers and the akumas as well as between Adrien and his father. Nathalie caught Adrien looking for apartments in Paris, which shouldn't have been surprising considering he was nearing eighteen and the tension in the house was getting to the point that even she could barely stand it.

"You can't stop me," he growled.

"I won't," was all she said. No point in making enemies with either man.

"And don't tell my father."

"I won't."

And she didn't. She wouldn't. Not when she sympathized with Adrien more than she did with Gabriel at the moment. She did her best not to think of the why and instead got lost in her work.

A month later, Adrien had yet another episode of refusing to go anywhere. Those had increased in frequency to be a few times a month, but never had he refused to go to school.

"Tell them I'm sick," he said.

"I won't lie, Adrien," she snipped. "I will let this slide on your extra-curricular activities, but not for school."

"I'm not going, Nathalie," he growled, that aggressive tone coming up again.

"Adrien, what's wrong?" she asked. "There has to be a reason you're being stubborn."

"I don't feel well."

"Then should I get you medicine? Or do you need to go to the doctor?"

"No!" he shouted. There was a beat of silence before he answered again. "No. I'm fine. I'll get over it."

Nathalie's brow furrowed. Something was wrong. Even with this rebellious streak, this was not the Adrien she knew. "Adrien, I'm coming in."

"No, wait—"

But it was too late. Nathalie pushed open the door, exposing the scene that Adrien clearly didn't want her to see.

He sat on the bed, shirt off and blood dripping from several spots all over his body. Beside him sat a girl Nathalie recognized as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of Adrien's friends. She had blood on her shirt and bandages covering her wrists and head. Her face turned a bright shade of red at getting caught in Adrien's room, a bandage that was half wrapped around Adrien held loosely in her hands.

The images of Ladybug and Chat Noir after their last battle flooded Nathalie's mind. Her tablet fell from her hand.

Adrien was fuming, his face growing red with anger as his lips curled up in a sneer. But Nathalie caught the way he shifted. He looked an awful lot like Chat Noir protecting his lady angling himself between her and Marinette.

The guilt came back, heaping upon her shoulders. Suddenly, she felt like Atlas keeping the world up. "I'll call the school and say you're sick. Do you want me to bring you two up anything? More bandages? Some food?"

Adrien's lips dropped from their sneer, turning into a frown. Nathalie would take it.

"No," he grumbled. "We're fine."

Nathalie nodded. "I'll see if I can excuse Miss Dupain-Cheng's absence as well." And with that, she walked out and shut the door.

A day after the incident, Adrien was looking as though nothing had happened, yet Nathalie could still imagine the bruises on his face and the gashes all over his body. It scared her to realize that Adrien had simply become that good with make-up.

"Sir," Nathalie said, staring at the sulking man hunched over his desk. "Maybe you should take it easy for another day or two. That akuma took a toll—"

"Nathalie, why didn't Adrien go to school yesterday?"

"He wasn't feeling well, sir. Do not change the subject."

"The boy is fine," Gabriel growled, his cold eyes locking on her. "Do not encourage his rebellion or I shall restrict him further to teach him properly."

"He's nearly eighteen—"

"As long as he lives in this house, he will submit to my authority. He's too hot tempered like his mother."

"Don't you care?" Nathalie challenged.

Gabriel's eyes were cold and hard, boring into her soul as he stared her down. She wouldn't back down, though. She was made of sterner stuff than to cower in fear at the first sign of trouble

"You are dismissed, Nathalie. And you will _not_ bring up what you think is best for _my son._"

It was the final straw that broke Nathalie down to her knees, the load on her shoulders too heavy to bear any longer. "So be it, sir. You'll have my resignation by the end of the week."

His eyes narrowed. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh?" she said, raising a brow as she stared back at him. "I couldn't tell."

"Then I'll want that miraculous back," he warned. "Or have you face the consequences."

"Is that a threat, sir?"

His gaze said it all.

She rose her chin. "Understood." And with that, she marched out the door.

That night, she used the miraculous for the second and last time before vowing to give it up forever. By the time she detransformed, she felt sick enough to pass out, but she told herself that the little vial in her hands was worth it. She swore Gabriel would never make an akuma again. He would never again hurt his son, both in or out of the suit. And she'd make sure of that.

The next day, she held her resignation out to Gabriel. "Here," she said. "My two weeks."

He snatched it from her hands. "The miraculous?"

She paused but decided that it was best to play along with him now. She took the pin off her jacket and handed it off to him. "Here."

He took the pin, never taking his eyes off her.

She left before he could say a word.

She closed the door behind her just as Adrien was marching down the stairs. He spared her a glance.

"I just turned in my two-weeks."

Adrien froze before he could grab the front door's handle. "What?"

"I'm quitting," she said. "Just thought I'd inform you."

He took a step to face her. His expression was passive, but Nathalie swore there was a bit of anger and hurt in his eyes. "I understand why," he said.

She wanted to tell him more. The vial was burning in the pocket against her chest. "I'll be here until a suitable replacement is found," she said. "I don't know for certain when that will be."

Adrien gave a nod. "I understand," he repeated, turning away from her. "I do. I wish you the best, Nathalie."

And with that, he marched out the door.

Nathalie sighed. There were so many other words on her tongue, but none of them could be said.

Two days later, and neither Agreste man would give her a passing glance. She'd hurt them both, badly. She hated doing it, particularly to Adrien. The little vial she carried with her was a reminder that she had worse in store for Gabriel, but never had the chance to use it. To fix the problem that she'd been privy to yet ignored for far too long.

That night, she overheard Gabriel requesting wine with dinner, likely from the built-up stress she'd caused him. She watched and waited and when no one was looking, she took her chance to empty the vial into the strong liquid without anyone being the wiser.

After she'd been dismissed for the day, she tossed the empty vial into a trashcan outside a food stall that was on her way home from work, where it was sure to be taken out and tossed in a dumpster far away before anyone could think to look for it.

When she arrived the next day, she was just in time to see Adrien pack up his things to leave. "Father isn't up yet," he grumbled.

"You didn't check on him?" Nathalie asked.

"Why bother?" Adrien said, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "It's the one morning that I haven't been yelled at."

It was somewhat of a relief. Nathalie absently wondered if anyone had checked in on him yet. She'd hoped not.

She knocked on his door. "Sir?"

No answer.

She took a deep breath and prepared herself for this. This was her doing, and she'd see her actions through.

She entered his room and saw him laying motionlessly on his bed. Morbidly curious, she checked his pulse.

And what she found assured her that Gabriel had made his last akuma and Hawkmoth would never terrorize the city again.

Now should be the time to call for help, but she had to snatch his miraculous first.

Thankfully, it took all of three minutes do to so, grabbing them from behind the painting that she'd seen him open many a time. The emergency vehicles were on their way immediately afterwards.

By noon, the press had circulated that Gabriel Agreste was dead.

When Adrien came home, he was clearly frazzled. "Is it true, Nathalie?"

Nathalie frowned. "Adrien, you may want to have a seat."

He frowned, crossing his arms. "I can stand," he insisted.

"That's not what I meant."

Eventually, Nathalie coaxed him into a seat in the kitchen. Considering how he practically fell into the chair, he had been lying about his being able to stand. "So, he's dead." Adrien snipped. "I could have stood for you to tell me that."

The barely detectable warble in his voice betrayed him.

With a heavy sigh, Nathalie gathered all her strength as she pulled the moth miraculous from her front pocket.

The color rapidly drained from Adrien's face.

"He was Hawkmoth," she said, holding out the gem in a way clearly indicating him to take it.

Adrien's movements were slow. The shock was clearly overwhelming him as he slowly closed his hand around the moth miraculous.

Nathalie gave him a moment to stare at the gem before dumping another surprise on him. "And I," she said, pulling out the peacock miraculous. "Was the one that stopped him."

The silence that followed was long and tense. She watched as a myriad of emotions crossed Adrien's face, yet he didn't say a single word, nor did he move from his spot. It took a long while for Adrien's shock to fade. Eventually, he stood and took Nathalie's miraculous. "I have to tell Ladybug."

"You do that."

Sluggishly, he made his way up to his room, and shut his door silently for the first time in a long while.

The funeral was days later. Marinette attended with Adrien, which drew some press that would have to be handled, but Nathalie knew that Marinette was the only reason Adrien was keeping his composure. If Nathalie didn't know any better, she'd say Adrien was the only thing keeping Marinette composed, too. It was hard to tell with the black veil Marinette wore to cover her face. A brilliant move, to be honest, seemingly respectful yet the perfect disguise for her emotions. After all, Ladybug was sitting next to her Chat Noir at her arch-enemy-slash-partner's-father's funeral. Nathalie couldn't imagine what was going through Marinette's head at the moment.

Adrien nor Nathalie wanted to give nor write the eulogy, so it was given by someone else who spoke of how incredibly talented the man was and how he loved his son and late wife.

Adrien quietly scoffed at that. Marinette growled, squeezing Adrien's arm. Nathalie didn't flinch; she'd become skilled in hiding her emotions.

The church bells rang, ending the service and officially ringing out the end of Hawkmoth's reign.

"I hope you'll be staying in my employ, Nathalie," Adrien said in the car on the way home. "You, too," he added, looking over at his driver.

"Of course," Nathalie said. She did this all for him, because she cared enough to not let this insanity continue any longer. If anything, Adrien needed her more than ever. For support, for help, for guidance.

"My father's company may lose some steam, but I want to keep it afloat for now. And it's not because I care for my father's legacy—"

"I know why," Nathalie said, sneaking a glance at Marinette. Adrien could say his reasons were that _Gabriel_ was a large company that employed many people who were innocent of Gabriel's side-activities. But Nathalie knew it was so Marinette could take over and have a launch point for her own designs. She could have been a fantastic apprentice for Gabriel, a perfect option for an heir, yet it seemed Adrien had to be the one to make that rational decision.

Adrien nodded. "Thank you, Nathalie. For everything."

The fire in his eyes as he looked at her… it reminded her of Gabriel. But it was clear Adrien had a better head on his shoulders. One that wouldn't give to the temptation of wreaking havoc on the lives of Paris so easily.

"We also have to plan the announcement that Hawkmoth has been defeated," Marinette said, breaking into the conversation. "That may raise suspicions."

"So be it," Adrien said. "The people of Paris need to know they're safe, no matter what it says for my family name."

"We could always reveal ourselves."

"You'd never use your position as Ladybug to forward yourself, so I won't use my position as Chat to keep my name clean," Adrien countered. "All people have to know is that Hawkmoth has been permanently dealt with and that he called destruction on his own head. He made an akuma for the very last time.

"And that's all that has to be said."


End file.
